Friday, June 10, 2011

Back to Training!

I'm excited I finally got off of my exhausted, lazy rear and went out to work with Chrome after work. I fed him, brushed him, fly sprayed him, brought him out of the pasture and tied him to the fence post. He was bewildered at first because I’ve only ever tied him to trees, but it only took him a minute to figure out he couldn’t follow me. Poor guy was so confused.

First I worked on lifting his hooves (well resting his rear hooves). He did very well and held them up for as long as I would wait and sometimes didn’t even put them down between clicks lol. He resisted a little on his left rear, but I think it was the unfamiliar fence and hill causing the problem. He just likes to dance around sometimes. I also asked him to move his haunches over several times which he did well and his shoulders once. It was a little iffy, but we’ve never worked on it so I was happy.

Then I untied him and worked on his lateral flexion. He did his good side perfectly, but really wasn’t doing too well to the right. He would flex but not very far. I was tickling for the cue. Then I remembered that he's supposed to be learning it with the rope! That cleared things up for him a bit and he did well. He still doesn’t flex very far to the right, but what can I expect after so long without working on it? This would be so much easier to teach from on his back lol. I’ll keep working on it and get him loosened up.

Then I worked on backing with halter pressure since I’ve only really done it with my hand on his chest. He did really well backing until I released pressure, sometimes as many as ten steps. Once he even flexed vertically and I gave him a jackpot. I want to get him loose doing it instead of bracing. He needs to learn to give his head. I completely forgot to ask for head lowering. I need to work both on his crest cue and his rope cue. When he’s good at that again I want to ask him to do it while walking and eventually backing.

That’s all I worked on since it’s been a while. I didn’t want to over do it. All in all he did fantastic! It’s like we never stopped working except for the stiffness. :D

Date Aquired: 10-19-09 at five months old.Likes: Eating, clicker training, being brushed, playing (with anything he can get his teeth on), training, grazing and getting dirty.Dislikes: Being ignored and/or bored, being in a stall and standing still for long periods of time (unless he's being brushed).

Chrome's Barn Colors: Royal blue and silver.

If you're not a very avid reader but would still like to follow Chrome's progress be sure to check out hisMonthly Progress Reportson the nineteenth of every month. You can also read more about him on the About Chrome page.

Chrome's Conformation Shot

About Rocky

Name: RockyNicknames: Rocks, RockStar, King of Side EyeSire:Unknown, but was pinto colored and registered AQHA or APHADam: Unknown, but was black and registered AQHABreed: Quarter Horse/PaintDOB: 2004Height: 14.3hhWeight:1278lbsColor: Black Sabino

Date Aquired: 5-30-15.Likes: Food! Being boss. He was always the low man on the totem pole so he's loving ruling the roost here.Dislikes: Leaving his herd and having his hooves soaked for thrush.

Barn Colors: Coming soon. Hubby hasn't decided yet.

History: His sire (a show horse) broke into the neighbor's pasture, so the breeding was not planned. The old man who owned the mare died and the family sold his dam to a friend of my friend C. After Rocky was born the friend sold his dam. C played with and trained Rocky from the day he was born. She started him under saddle and did all of his training. Eventually the friend gave him to C and she's had him ever since until she gave him to me.

About Led Zeppelin

Date Aquired: My dad rescued/bought him shortly before I brought Chrome home, but he gave him to us on 1-18-10.

Likes: Treats, forehead scratches, his buddies and braying early in the morning.Dislikes: Being handled at all (his first three years were spent in someone's backyard never being touched), sudden movements and sometimes his bratty pasture mate Chrome. :D

About Me

Me with Chrome's sire Jan!

I'm almost thirty, live in the USA and I love horses (obviously). I've been obsessed with Friesians (that's Chrome's purebred Friesian sire in the above picture) for over ten years. I started riding horses when I was five and always had horses from then until 2007 when I found myself without one. I wanted a Friesian, but the budget wouldn't allow for it so I started looking at crosses. I found Chrome (Friesian/Arabian) and I haven't regretted it for a second. I bought him as a five month old weanling in 2009 and I've done all of his training myself. The blog is about our continued journey together as I attempt to make him my dream all around horse who can do anything from dressage, competitive trail riding, driving, mounted archery, working equitation and anything else we want to try. He's still very green and we obviously have a long way to go, but you're welcome to follow along on our journey. I also love dogs, art, photography, writing, reading, fishing, biking, camping, archery and many other things. You can learn more on my About Me page, my Equestrian Bucket List page and my FAQ page.